UK firm Pinsent Masons has opened its first international delivery centre, which will be based in Cape Town, South Africa.
The new centre will help expand firm’s legal delivery services, which are mainly provided by its Pinsent Masons Vario business. It will provide support services such as administrative, paralegal, company secretary, legal project management and legaltech and consultancy expertise to international clients outside of South Africa.
The centre will operate as a separate entity to the firm’s existing South African office in Johannesburg and will not work on local matters, which will continue to be handled by the Johannesburg office.
The centre is operational from today (2 February). The firm said it intends to recruit around 50 full-time employees during its first year of operations, though it expects to increase that number rapidly in the coming years.
Matthew Kay, head of Pinsent Masons Vario and project lead for the establishment of the new centre, said: “Whether it’s through leveraging the potential of AI or deploying our diverse range of legal skillsets, we’re continually transforming the way we deliver our services. It’s really about ensuring our clients receive our best work, in the right way.
“Our new legal delivery centre in Cape Town means we can apply highly skilled resources to meet our client’s demands in a very competitive international legal market.”
The firm said while the centre will mainly service client matters, it will also offer support for other Pinsent Masons functions.
Pinsent Masons Vario was launched in 2013 as a flexible resourcing service, but has since combined other business units including a tech and consulting group and its legal project management and managed legal services business to become a broader professional services group.
Investments in legal support services have been ramping up recently. In December, UK AI-powered legal services provider Scissero acquired the managed services team of rival Robin AI, while in October Los Angeles-based alternative legal services provider Elevate acquired Dutch ALSP Legadex.
And in September, Burford Capital took a minority stake in UK legal consultancy Kindleworth. Kindleworth helps law firms manage key functions including finance, compliance, technology, HR, operations and marketing.
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